Radio communication systems operating over shared frequencies usually employ a frequency management methodology to promote the efficient use of available frequencies, and to minimize interference among users. In a typical implementation, the radio communication system has infrastructure equipment that manages frequency assignments, user access, collision detection and resolution, and other operational aspects of the system. Such infrastructure equipment tend to represent a significant cost in the establishment of a radio communication system. Recently, low cost radio communication systems have been proposed that involve self organizing communication units that do not depend on infrastructure equipment for frequency management. One such system is described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,430,775 issued to Fulghum, et al. on Jul. 4, 1995, for a Method and Apparatus for a Radio Communication System. Here, a radio communication system operates over a sequence of communication channels using a channel hopping protocol. The channel hopping protocol allows participating communication units to establish communication groups which coexist with other communication groups using the same set of frequencies, all without the use of infrastructure equipment.
Repeater systems are well known in the art. Generally, a repeater allows a communication unit to increase its coverage range by receiving and retransmitting signals from that communication unit. It is desirable to provide for the use of repeaters in radio communication systems that utilize a channel hopping protocol with decentralized frequency management. Prior art channel hopping systems do not adequately address the incorporation of repeaters in this manner. Therefore, a new radio communication system that provides for repeater assisted channel hopping is needed.